On the edge of going nuts – a modern flight attendant’s reality?

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: Gunawan Kartapranata

For many, the flight attendant’s job is a dream come true. Visiting new places, earning good money, meeting new people at 10-12 km height – that’s certainly the charming part of the work. However, since the dawn of the profession back in 1930s both the airline industry and passengers themselves seem to have changed a lot thus raising the question whether today’s flight attendant’s job brings more satisfaction or stress. The recent “nut incident” – whereas one of the attendants aboard Korean Air’s flight 086 was ordered to leave Airbus A380 after servicing 1 class passenger macadamia nuts in a bag (and not in a dish as required) – it has once again revealed that cabin crew’s everyday work is not always that romantic. “Outside the industry many believe that being a flight attendant is an easy stress-free job where you get the opportunity to see the world for free in exchange for just a couple of hours of servicing people on board. Certainly, at a certain point, that is true. But the real cabin crew’s shift is bit more than that. First and foremost, one should realize that flight attendants are on board to ensure one’s safety, while serving drinks and snacks is their secondary duty”, comments Skaiste Knyzaite, the CEO of AviationCV.com. With this in mind, no wonder that talking during safety demos and calling cabin crew by clicking fingers (as if they were servants) are amongst the most irritating things for flight attendants, states Skyscanner. Moreover, with somewhat 40-50 thousand in-flight medical cases per year, flight attendants are the ones who provide the first aid thus not only ensuring passengers’ safety, but sometimes saving lives as well. Another issue is the travelling itself. While flying to a new country or a new city certainly thrills, not everyone will actually enjoy staying somewhere in Singapore or Dubai on a Christmas Eve while one‘s family is thousands of miles away. And should one have a return flight the same day, sometimes the crew has only 10 minutes to clean the cabin, and let‘s face it – we, the passengers, do not always leave the seats as tidy as they were in the beginning of the flight. Moreover, while the economy class obviously has more passengers, it is usually business and first class customers who require the most of the crew’s attention due to more demanding needs as well as habits. „But despite all the challenges, flight attendant’s job still provides its portion of romance and charm. That‘s an opportunity to join aviation in just a couple of months of training. The chance to earn USD 40 000 per year with usually no strict requirements for an Academic degree. And if you love to socialize – that‘s certainly the job for you since one may never know with whom he or she will communicate during the next flight. Celebrities, politicians, businessmen – it can be anyone. For example, you can even serve the President of Lithuania who is flying on your low cost flight!” says Skaiste Knyzaite. “All in all, like any other job, being a flight attendant has it pros and cons. Some people do not fit the specifics of the working environment, but some are born for this kind of job. Eventually, if you have this exciting feeling inside every time you see an airplane, and you wish to try yourself in aviation – becoming a flight attendant may be your chance!”